It had been years since I had partook in the sport that is Tobogganing; however, that was about to change. After a few Rum & Egg Nogs with some old friends, we decided to suit up and sled the gargantuan hill that is Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant Park is a great place to check out during the winter or summer, as there is always something to do. Be it track & field and soccer in the summer, or skating the oval and sledding in the winter. Stepping into this park will immediately give you the sense that you should be doing something athletic in nature, despite how many holiday beverages you may or may not have consumed.
Toboggan gear is surprisingly cheap
We made a quick stop at the local Canadian Tire to equip ourselves with some tobogganing equipment. We were able to pick up a couple Crazy Carpets for $4.00 each and a Speed Saucer for $5.00. Thankfully, one of my friends was smart enough to hang on to his old GT Racer from when he was 12. Needless to say, we were all pretty psyched to re-live the experience of hurdling ourselves down a hill on a cheap piece of plastic. Seeing as we’re all “Adults” now, we had to find a way to make this whole adventure a little more mature. What better way to be mature than to bring beer to the top of the hill. Classy!
Quick fact: Mount Pleasant was actually a landfill decades ago, and the hill is actually part dirt, and part ancient trash. The park was given a giant eco-makeover and turned into a local park. Looking at the park now you might have a tough time believing that though. It’s very much green.
Icey beers are oh-so-awesome!
Beer seemed like it would go so well with tobogganing. So we picked up Cube of Pil, aka Saskatchewan Champagne, Sner, Pilly Pop, or more formally Pilsner. For those unaware, Pilsner is a staple of Saskatchewan culture. We hauled our case of beer along with our plastic vessels to the top of Mount Pleasant. The weather was a teeth chattering -30 degrees Celcius with windchill, and the beer was all but too happy to freeze minutes after cracking the top. This in turn lead to the realization that a newly opened beer needed to be consumed in under a minute and a half, or else you’d be left with slushy ice-beer that was nearly impossible to get out of the can. Needless to say, the challenge was accepted.
Liquid strength and broken bodies
Making good use of our newfound liquid confidence, we propelled our bodies in the direction of icey ramps left behind by past tobogganers. A few bruises and scratches later and the decision was made to slow our pace a bit and enjoy the flashback inspired thrill of catching speed and losing control of our toboggans only to roll the rest of the way down the hill.
We repeated this process until all but 5 beers were finished and our bodies were numb from pain or cold. At that point I wasn’t sure which it was, all I knew was that I needed some warmth. Thankfully that warmth could be found in my parents house, located only a handful of blocks away. Who knew re-living childhood memories could be so awesome?
[box]Be sure to check out Regina Toboggan Hills for a list of all of the Toboggan Hills in Regina.[/box]
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